Institutional and Socio-Cultural Factors that Influence the Wellbeing of Women Working in Academia in Arab Countries: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Academic life in the present era is subject to several occupational stressors, including increased workloads, reduced research funding, tenuous career paths, and family-work conflicts. Such stressors affect academics’ quality of life, wellbeing, and job satisfaction, and women are particularly vulnerable. There is, however, a dearth of information on such issues in the Arab World. We conducted a scoping review to map the current body of knowledge related to the institutional and socio-cultural factors that influence the wellbeing status of women working in academia in Arab countries. Fourteen articles were included. Several challenges threatening women’s wellbeing in academia were identified including institutional factors (i.e., human resource policies and laws, workplace empowerment, and academic mentoring) and socio-cultural factors (i.e., work-life balance, culture and religion). Current human resources, policies, and labor laws do not adequately support maternal or complex family roles contributing to work-life imbalances and contribute to poor mental health outcomes for academic women working in academia in Arab countries. Although some of these challenges may stem from lingering cultural stereotypes about gender roles, this review highlights the need for professional development and mentoring programs for academic women in Arab countries, in addition to supportive institutional laws, policies, and resources for empowerment of women in academia.